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Surgical Center Conservative With Fills



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So I go in for a fill tomorrow. I am almost exactly 6 months out. This is my 4th fill. What is bothering me is how slow they are progressing me. I have a total of 3.7 CC's in my 14 CC band. I really haven't felt much restriction. I can eat more than the 1 cup I am supposed to be satisfied on (even though I usually don't) and I do not stay full for the four hours I am supposed to stay full for. The doctor put 2 full CC's in at surgery time so my fills have been 1 CC, .5 CC and the last one .2 CC. She said she will continue to put .2 CC's in each time from now on. I am required to come in every month until I am one year out. At this rate it seems that it will take me the whole year just to get to green or close. Isn't this very conservative? I know the dangers of an overfill, but this seems excessive. I wonder if it is because I am still losing some weight? I am down 72 lbs total and they just count the lbs. since surgery which would be 57. So does my weight loss need to stop before they will up it? I am exercising 5 to 6 days a week which is why I am still losing. Even so, I looked at my records and I have only lost 5 lbs in the last 4 weeks. I know any progress is progress, but I feel as though my eating is holding me back from the 10 lbs. a month I would like to see. The lady who does my fills also mentioned the average is 5.3. I will never get there any time soon, and certainly not even within the year after surgery? So should I insist on a bigger fill or try and find a different place for fills? The surgical center is an hour from my home. I have insurance, but still have to pay about $130 per fill with my co payment. Anyone go this slowly or is this normal? Thanks for any answers or experiences!

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Sounds fairly conservative to me... my fills are usually 1 cc each visit. I'm at 5 now.

They probably are being cautious since you're losing weight. Lap band isn't like bypass where you can expect to lose 10+ pounds a month so 5 pounds is actually a really good loss! I stopped losing weight after my 2nd fill and am just now feeling decent enough restriction to keep my calorie intake at 1500-1800 calories a day (which was the recommended number from my dietician).

I'd ask for a 1 cc fill next time you're there. They should have you drink a bottle of Water to make sure you're not having troubles with liquids (since dehydration is so dangerous). Hopefully that makes sense.

Sorry you're having troubles but congrats on the weight loss! 72 pounds 6 months out is a big accomplishment!! I'm only 34 pounds down after 6 months myself. I suck at dieting without restriction :blush:

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I have 10.5 in a 14 cc band and after 2 years having in removed and the sleeve done on the 28th. Don't rush your fills I think that is where I went wrong

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

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Good to know, I don't want to rush them either. I ended up just getting .2 again. I was actually at 3.7 so now I'm at 3.9. She told me to make an appointment 2 months from now and to cancel it if I dont need it. Well I left and made an appointment a month from now because I think I will need it. I'm just starting back on food after liquids and I think I do feel some restriction. So I will see how this goes, I guess... Good news is I'm down 3 pounds this week ????

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